



A LECTURE 



DKLIVKRED BEFORE THE 




ii\l)MiNi\ I118T01MCAL SOCIETY, 



ON THE EARLY HISTORY OF INDIANAPOLLS 



AND 



CENTRAL INDIANA, 



AT THE HALL OF THE HOUSE OF iiEPRESENTATIVES, ON MONDAY 
EVENING, THE 3Lst OF JANUARY, 1853. 




BY NATHANIEL 'BOLTON, 

STATK LIBUARIAX. 



INDIANABOLIIS: 

AUSTIN H. BROWN, PRINTER 
1853. 



41, 



.#r». 







Glass K5 5^ . 

Book ' I? > T3l 



A LECTURE 



DELIVERED BEFORE THE 



INDIANA HISTORICAL SOCIETY, 



ON THE EARLY HISTORY OF INDIANAPOLIS 



AND 



CENTHAL INDIANA, 



AT THE HALL OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, ON MONDAY 
EVENING, THE 3l9t OF JANUARY, 1853. 



BY NATHANIEL BOLTON, 



STATE LIBRARIAN. 



INDIANAPOLIS: 

AUSTIN H. BROWN, PRINTER. 
HK 1853. 




CO 

■X 



PREFACE. 



The Indiana Legislature having granted the use of the Hall of 
the House of Representatives, to the Indiana Historical Society, 
for the delivery of a Lecture on the Early History of Indianapolis 
and Central Indiana, for the first ten years after their settlement 
by the whites, from 1820 to 1830, by N. Bolton, Esq., State Libra- 
rian, the Hon. Isaac Blackford, by request, took his seat as Presi- 
dent of the Society. The large Hall was filled to overflowing with 
ladies and gentlemen. At the conclusion of the Lecture, on mo- 
tion of WiLLL^M J. Brown, Esq., a resolution was unanimously 
adopted, by those present, requesting a copy for publication, which, 
having been procured, will be found in the succeeding pages. It 
was intended, by Mr. Bolton, as an introduction to a Festival of 
the Old Settlers of Indianapolis and Central Indiana, which is to 
take place at an early period, during the present year, and to make 
arrangements for which a committee has been appointed. 

As there are quite a number of poetical extracts introduced into 
the Lecture, it is but justice to add, that they are from the pen of 
Mrs. Sarah T. Bolton. 



L E C T U R K 



Assembled in this beautiful Capitol of the fourth State in the 
Union, who is not startled by the recollection, that the rains of 
scarce thirty winters have obliterated the tracks of the Indian from 
the spot on which it stands. Who can realize that little more than 
thirty years ago the red man built his bark lodge, and kindled 
his council-fires, in the dense wilderness that then covered the site 
of this fair and flourishing city ? Yet this is true, and there are 
men living in our midst ; men still in the full vigor and strength of 
manhood, who witnessed it all — aye more, the Delegate who once 
represented what now constitutes the States of Indiana, Illinois, 
and Wisconsin, in the Congress of the United States, is still living. 
Surely, when he looks on these three mighty States, now sending 
six Senators and twenty-three Representatives to our National 
Councils, he must feel that he is in a new existence ; or, like Rip 
Van Winkle, he has taken a long sleep, so great is the change. 
But still greater must be the surprise of those yet living, who were 
on the stage of action in 1799, when General W''illiam Henry 
Harrison was elected the first Delegate to Congress, from the terri- 
tory north-Avest of the Ohio river, whose boundaries were Penn- 
sylvania, the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, and Canada. The 
country west of the Mississippi then belonged to another power, 
and was acquired, by Mr. Jefterson, from France, in 1803. Arthur 
St. Clair had been Governor of the territory for several years, 
previous to 1799, under a territorial government of the first grade — 
having no Delegate in Congress. 

In 1800 the north-western territory was divided into the -Ohio 
and Indiana territories — the Indiana territory retaining within her 
limits the greater part of Michigan, the whole of Illinois and Wis- 
consin, and what now constitutes the State of Indiana. In 1801 
General Harrison was appointed Governor. In 1805 Michigan 
was made a separate territory, and the same year the fii|i>t"t«i;rito- 
rial Legislature, for the Indiana territory, assembled at A iiieennes. 
In 1807 the population, within the present limits of Indiana, was 
only about twelve thousand. In 1809 the territory was again 
divided, and the territory of Illinois established. General ^TruATisoii 
?till continuing the Governor of the Indiana territory. 



t) LECTURE BEFORE THE 

^The first Delegate from the Indiana territory was Benjamin 
Parke; the second, Jesse B. Thomas^Jjefore alluded to, who is still 
living; and, after the separation from Illinois j(from 1810 to 1816, 
the Hon. Jonathan Jennings^^ 

In the fall of 1812, Governor Harrison having been appointed to 
the command of the north-western army, in the war then in exist- 
ence between the United States and Great Britain, Thomas Posey, 
an officer of the Revolution, was appointed Governor. In 1813 
the seat of government was removed to Corydon. Governor Posey 
resided at Jeffersonville, and the building in which he lived is still 
standing. 

I^n 1816 Indiana was admitted into the Union as a State, and her 
population was estimated at 65,000 inhabitants. Jonathan Jen- 
nings was her first Governor, Waller Taylor of Vincennes, and 
James Noble of Brookville, were elected Senators to Congress, and 
William Hendricks her first Representative in the popular branch 
of the National Legislature^ 

In 1818 Governor Jennings, in connection with Lewis Cass and 
Benjamin Parke, as commissioners, on the part of the United 
States, succeeded in purchasing from the Indians, with the excep- 
tion of the Miami, Thorntown, and a few other Reserves, all their 
lands in Central Indiana, embracing the very spot on which this 
building is erected, south of the Wabash river. General Cass was 
subsequently a commissioner, in connection with Governor Ray 
and General Tipton, in purchasing the extensive Pottawatamie 
possessions, north of the Wabash, where, at the instance of Gov- 
ernor Ray, the valuable grant was obtained for Indiana, of a section 
of land for every mile of a road from Lake Michigan to the Ohio 
river. Of these commissioners General Cass is the sole survivor. 
He is now the patriarch of the United States Senate, and having 
occupied so conspicuous a part in the early history of the State, 
we instinctively turn to him as to a friend. Like his great compat- 
riots Calhoun, Clay, and Webster, he had his eye fixed on the 
highest office in the nation. Like them he was unsuccessful. But 
who will forget the burning eloquence of Clay, the brilliant quali- 
ties of Calhoun, or the giant strength of Webster, because they 
failed to reach the goal of their ambition? The last great effort 
of Henry Cla}^ was for his country, and Webster and Cass were 
his associates. 

In 1820, the lands in Central Indiana, acquired in 1818, having 
been surveyed, commissioners were appointed, under the act admit- 
ting Indiana into the Union, to make a selection of four sections, 
or ^^^fiftgacres for a |>€rmanent seat of government. George Hunt, 
John Conner, Stephen Ludlow, Joseph Bartholomew, John Tipton, 
John Gilleland, Thomas Emerson, Frederick Rapp, and Jesse B. 
Durham, constituted this Board, who, according to the proclamation 
of Governor Jennings, met at the house of William Conner, on the 
west fork of White river, elected Benjamin I. Blythc their clerk, 



INDIANA HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 7 

and proceeded to the discharge of their duties. They had the 
whole of the then recent purchase from which to make a selection ; 
but the Bluffs of White river and the site where Indianapolis now 
stands, were the rival points — the latter only gaining the location, 
I am told, by a majority of one vote. 

The commissioners, in their report to the Legislature, in 1820, 
state — " The undersigned have endeavored to connect with an eli- 
gible site, the advantages of a navigable stream and fertility of 
soil, while they have not been unmindful of the geographical situa- 
tion of the various portions of the State ; to its political center as 
it regards both the present and future population, as well as the 
present and future interest of the citizens." 

I will here give, as an item of interest and curiosity, the follow- 
ing extracts from the private Journal of Gen. John Tipton, one of 
the commissioners, now in the possession of John B. Dillon, Esq. 
He says, in the commencement: — 

"On Wednesday, the 17th of May, 1820, 1 set out from Corydon, 
in company with Governor Jennings. I had been appointed, by 
the last Legislature, one of the commissioners to select and locale 
a site for the permanent seat of government of the State of Indi- 
ana. We took with us, Bill, a black boy, and having laid in a 
plentiful supply of bread and coffee, and provided a tent, we stop- 
ped at P. Bell's, two hours; then set out, and at seven o'clock 
came to Mr. Wineman's, on Blue river, and stopped for the night." 

The General continues his Journal, giving the same interesting 
and detailed account of events, from day to day, until Wednesday, 
the 7th of June, 1820. Under that date is the following account: 

"A fine clear morning. We met at McCormick's, and, on my 
motion, the commissioners came to a resolution to select and locate 
sections numbered 1 and 12, and east and west fractional sec- 
tion numbered 2, and east fractional section 11, and so much of 
the east side of west fractional section number 3, to be divided 
by a north and south line, running parallel to the west boundary 
of said section, as will equal in amount four entire sections, in 
township 15, n. of range 3, east. We left oiu* clerk making out 
his minutes and our report, and went to camp to dine. Returned 
after dinner. Our papers not being ready, B., D., and myself 
returned to camp. At 4 o'clock they went to sleep and I to writ- 
ing. At 5 we decamped and went over to McCormick's, [who 
then lived on the bank of White river, in a cabin, near where the 
White river bridge now stands]. Our clerk having his writing 
ready, the commissioners met and signed their report, and certified 
the services of the clerk at $45,06. The first boat landed, that 
ever was seen at the seat of government. It was a small ferry 
flat, with a canoe tied alongside, both loaded with the household 
goods of two families, moving to the mouth of Fall creek. They 
came in a keel boat as far as they could get it up the river, then 



8 LKtTLRK BEFORE THE 

unloaded the boat and brought up their goods in the flat and canoe. 
I paid for some corn and w., [whisky I suppose,] 62^." 

In 1821 the lots were laid out by Alexander Ralston, as engi- 
neer, under the direction of Christopher Harrison, as acting com- 
missioner, and in October, of the same year, the first sale of lots 
took place. 

Soon after the choice of the four sections, at this point, in 1821, 
attracted by the selection of a permanent seat of government for 
the young and growing State of Indiana, a company of some two 
hundred persons immediately emigrated to the place. With the 
exception of a few unimportant improvements, made by the traders 
and Indians, the whole country to the south, east and west, for 
more than forty miles, in each direction, was an unbroken wilder- 
ness. To the north the. purchase extended some forty miles, and 
beyond that, the lands were still in the possession of the natives 
of the forest. The aggregate amount at which the lots were bid 
off, at the first sale, was $35,596.25. The first inhabitants princi- 
pally settled immediately on the bank of White river, and the 
lower or western part of the city. Many of their log cabins were 
erected before the town was laid off", and when the survey was 
made, their residences presented a singular appearance, as to loca- 
tion. Some were in the center of the lots, others in the streets, 
and all without the least regard to the streets or alleys. Immedi- 
ately in front of where the State House now stands, near the 
center of Washington street, was the residence of Dr. Mitchell, 
an early physician, and known as one of the best of men. He 
was associated for a time, in business, with Dr. Livingston Dunlap, 
■who was one of the very first physicians who came to the place. 

I can enumerate but a few of those who first settled in Indian- 
apolis and the surrounding country. Amongst others, the names 
of Pogue, Harding, Johnson, of several families, O'Neal, Duncan, 
Fletcher, McCormick, Basye, Norwood, McDougall, Reagan, Rook- 
er, Dunning, Vanblaricum, Wilson, Mcllvaine, Coe, Henderson, 
Gregg, Smith, Foote, Currey, Wilkins, Blake, Ray, Morris, Yandes, 
Reed, Bates, Wick, Duvall, Wood, Caleb and Dr. Scudder, Now- 
land. Given, Walpole, Osborn, Morrow, Stephens, Brenton, Russell, 
Hawkins, Dunlap, Cox, McGeorge, Landis, Collins, McClung, Luse, 
Lake, &c., &c., were most conspicuous. 

The year 1821, over a great part of Indiana, as well as other 
portions of the west, was very sickly, and the early emigrants suf- 
fered much, removed as they were from many of the comforts of 
life to which they had been accustomed. But the pioneer-settlers 
of this portion of Indiana were men, and women too, of noble im- 
pulses and generous hearts, and friendships were then formed, that 
no circumstances have ever been able to sever. 

In January, 1822, in connection with a relative, I commenced 
the publication of the " Indianapolis Gazette," under the firm of 



INDIANA HISTORICAL SOCIETY. V 

Smith & Bolton, and in 1823 Messrs. Gregg & Maguire established 
another paper, called the " Western Censor and Emigrants Guide." 
The author of Chamberlain's Gazateer, in 1848, in paying a com- 
pliment to the survivors of these firms, in which he gives their 
standing in their respective parties — for editors of rival papers al- 
ways will differ — states : " N. Bolton, of the one firm, is now Re- 
gister of the Land Office, and D. Maguire is the Auditor of Public 
Accounts." The honors of both, however, were of short duration. 
Although one was a Whig and the other a Democrat, each be- 
longed to the wrong party to be continued in office. But Mac had 
the advantage. The Democrats, who obtained the ascendancy in 
the State, were compelled to let him serve out his term before they 
supplanted him; my head was cut off, with those of many good 
Democrats, by the Cabinet of General Taylor, as soon as my suc- 
cessor could be chosen from the numerous applicants that applied 
for the office. Pardon this egotism, for Mac's sake, and I will pro- 
mise to say less of myself hereafter. I was only giving a chapter 
from the political experience of two of the first editors of Indian- 
apolis. 

The history of the Indianapolis Gazette, for a short time after it 
came into existence, is rather interesting to printers. It was esta- 
blished in a buckeye log-cabin of but one room, part of which was 
occupied for a family residence. It was printed on new type; but 
on the first pattern of a Ramage press. The ink was put on with 
balls, made of dressed deerskin, stuffed with wool. The balls, 
when out of use, were kept soft by the application of raccoon oil. 
There was no Post Office nearer than Connersville, a distance of 
sixty miles; but a private mail was established, and a person em- 
ployed to go to Connersville every four weeks, to bring the letters 
and newspapers. In the month of February the President's mes- 
sage, which had been delivered in December, came to hand, and 
was published in the two or three succeeding numbers of the Ga- 
zette. Mr. Monroe was then President and made but short mes- 
sages. 

During the year 1822 a United States mail was established, and, 
in a short time, we had a mail from the east, every two weeks, un- 
less detained by high waters. 

The men who first came to Indianapolis, as a body, unlike those 
who usually settle new countries, were persons of superior intelli- 
gence. For a considerable time the nearest magistrate was sixty 
miles distant, yet so honorable was the bearing of all, that but lit- 
tle inconvenience was experienced. 

The year 1822 ushered in the election of county officers. James 
M. Ray was elected Clerk, Joseph Reed. Recorder, and James Mc- 
Ilvaine and William McCartney, (the latter then residing at the 
Falls of Fall Creek,) associate Judges, and something like the esta- 
blishment of civil government ensued. The Hon. William W. 
Wick was the first Circuit Judge, and Hervey Bates, the first she- 
2 



10 LECTURE BEFORE THE 

riff for Marion county ; and during the year Judge Wick com- 
menced holding his Courts. I attended several of these, including 
the counties of Shelby, Decatur, and Johnson. A number of law- 
yers, from the surrounding settlements, attended to witness the first 
introduction of civil government amongst the settlers of the " New 
Purchase" — a term given to the whole country then recently ac- 
quired from the Delaware Indians. In some instances the grand 
jury, attended by a bailiff, selected some large fallen tree, where 
they held their inquisitions, and sometimes the Courts were also 
held in the open air. But at night was the great scene of merri- 
ment amongst the members of the Bar. There were no Court 
Houses in those days, and the Courts were usually held in the 
largest cabin of the neighborhood. The fire-place was generall}^ 
eight or ten feet wide ; and, in the fall season of the year, beds 
were spread upon the floor, before the huge log fire, where some 
thirty or more, attorneys and others, would take up their lodgings 
for the night. Notwithstanding many a sleepy soul was greatly 
disturbed by the anecdotes of the party, it was impossible to enter 
the dream land, until two or three o'clock in the morning. As the 
trials before the Courts were generally of an unimportant charac- 
ter, consisting of appeal cases from justices' dockets, or for petit 
misdemeanors on indictments by the grand juries, they were gene- 
rally conducted in such a manner as to alibrd the most amuse- 
ment, yet still with the greatest possible respect for the Court. 
The attorneys being all anxious to distinguish themselves before 
the multitude who attended, would generally volunteer, so as to 
have at least two or three lawyers on each side of almost every 
question. I shall never forget the first Court, held in Decatur 
county, where the far-famed Jim Brown then resided, and where 
he was employed in all the suits on the docket, especially in two 
appeal cases, where there were cross suits. An old gentleman had 
a blooming daughter, to whom a young man of the neighborhood 
had been paying his addresses. After a short courtship he was 
unsuccessful. The young man sued the father for chopping wood, 
making fires, and other labor, while pressing his suit. The old 
gentleman sued the unsuccessful swain for the nice things the 
daughter had prepared for her lover, such as pumpkin pies and 
other dainties, including a splendid bowl of egg-nog. Brown was 
the advocate for the old gentleman, and it is only those acquainted 
with the man that can imagine the nature of his arguments. There 
were three or four lawyers on each side, and a day was consumed 
in these important trials. 

In preparing these remarks, I was reminded of a circumstance 
which transpired in Johnson county, which I must relate, notwith- 
standing my promise not to introduce myself very conspicuously 
in this lecture. I attended the first organization of the Circuit 
Court in that county, which took place at Smiley's Mills, some six 
or seven miles south-east, 1 believe, of the present seat of justice. 



INDIANA HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 11 

In company with Judge Wick, Calvin Fletcher, Esq., and others, I 
started from Indianapohs to attend this Court. We stopped for the 
night at Mr. King's, adjoining where Franklin now stands. A'ext 
morning we traveled four miles for breakfast, and stopped at the 
house of the widow of an early settler, whose residence has been 
known, for several years, since that time, as a general stopping 
place, for most travelers, journeying to the Ohio river, in that di- 
rection. The arrival of the Judge of the Circuit Court, and so dis- 
tinguished an attorney as my friend Fletcher, not to say anything 
of the young editor of the only newspaper at the seat of govern- 
ment, rather disconcerted the hostess, who was an intelligent Ken- 
tucky lady, with all the high notions of hospitality peculiar to the 
citizens of that State. She prepared for us a most excellent break- 
fast; but, with many apologies, insisted that we should call again, 
when she would honor the Judge and his distinguished companions 
with an entertainment worthy of the high stations they occupied. 
We accepted the invitation, and promised to return the next even- 
ing. The Court was held at Smiley 's Mill, in the open air, with 
the usual circumstances attending the organization of Courts in 
the New Purchase. But when the time arrived for us to comply 
with the invitation of our hospitable landlady, the Judge had fallen 
in with a company that insisted he should go with them the direct 
route to Columbus, and Mr. Fletcher had been employed by a cli- 
ent, who insisted that he should accompany him home, that he 
might be placed in possession of the facts of his case. Mr. Fletch- 
er felt bound to accept the invitation, for a lawyer could not, at 
that day, neglect the wishes of his clients, as they were like angels 
visits, few and far between; particularly those that brought much 
money to the purse. I was left alone to go to the widow's and 
make an apology. This was a difficult job for a modest young 
man like myself. But I screwed my courage up to the sticking 
point, and, solitary and alone, I returned to partake of one of the 
best prepared entertainments I ever enjoyed in my life. The land- 
lady had an accomplished daughter, and, with the rest of the family, 
we partook of the repast; and I spent a happy evening, after I had 
convinced the ladies that nothing but the direst necessity prevented 
my friends from partaking of their hospitality, and how mortified 
they would feel, when I related the pains that had been taken to 
entertain them. I nearly lost my heart in the adventure. Certain 
1 am that their kindness will never be forgotten. 

Before I dismiss the judiciary, I must notice the Justices' Courts 
in Indianapolis, where, amongst others, a Fletcher, a Breckinridge, 
and a Currey were sometimes the heroes. The eccentric Obed 
Foote, a man of great goodness of heart, a profound lawyer, and 
a ripe scholar, was one of the first magistrates. He was a bache- 
lor, and kept bachelor's hall. His eccentric disposition was no 
doubt partly the cause of his residence in Indianapolis. He was 
an economist, and possessed a stout, muscular frame. He labored 



12 LECTURE BEFORE THE 

constantly in his gardens, when not engaged in professional busi- 
ness, and the virgin soil of Indianapolis yielded him an incredible 
quantity of potatoes and other vegetables. These he was always 
ready to divide with his neighbors. He enjoyed remarkably good 
health, but was always the first to visit the sick couch of the stran- 
ger and minister to his wants. These traits of character made him 
very popular with the settlers. When he opened his magistrate's 
office, the attorneys, having but little other business, were some- 
times employed in his Court. He was very fond of potatoes, and 
when a trial was coming on, generally had a fire full to serve up, 
when the pleadings commenced. After examiningthe witnesses very 
carefully, he would uncover his potatoes, and having placed them 
on the table, would remark, turning his back to the lawyers — " Now 
Messieurs Pettifoggers, you can proceed with your arguments while 
I eat my potatoes." 

The beautiful eminence, in the centre of Indianapolis, called the 
Governor's Circle, in 1821, and for some years afterwards, was 
covered with a delightful grove of sugar-trees. Here seats were 
prepared, and here the first public services were performed, in hon- 
or of our holy religion. The Rev. Mr. McClung, a man of but 
little pretensions, but of great piety, was the preacher. No one 
inquired to what creed or profession he belonged — the whole popu- 
lation was necessary to make a respectable audience — but the pure 
and simple doctrines of Christianity were here inculcated, with a 
force and power, perhaps never equalled. The divisions of the 
Christian Church were here unknown, but the glorious gospel, 
which brings life and immortality to light, shone forth with all its 
brilliancy. 

On a beautiful Sabbath morning in the spring of 1822, I first 
took my seat in this church of nature, dedicated to the living God; 
and it was here, like our fathers, on Plymouth rock, that the bless- 
ings of Heaven were invoked on the embryo city. God grant that 
the prayers then offered up may continue to be answered, as we 
feel they have been, to the latest generations, and may civil and 
religious liberty, as then enjoyed, ever be the portion of the metrop- 
olis of Indiana. 

In the course of a year or two, as population increased, Method- 
ist, Baptist and Presbyterian churches were established. Dr. Coe, 
Caleb Scudder and one or two others, organized a Presbyterian 
Church early in 1823, and procured the services of the Rev. David 
Proctor for their preacher. By this time Mr. Scudder had built a 
frame cabinet-shop, some thirty feet in length, on the State House 
square, nearly in front of where the Capitol now stands. This 
building was cleaned out for Sundays, and afibrded a very comfort- 
able place for public worship. It was here, in April, 1823, that the 
first Sabbath school was organized, consisting of some twenty or 
thirty scholars and eight or ten teachers. It was founded on the 
union principle, and embraced all denominations, for several 



INDIANA IHSTORirAI. SOCIETY. 13 

years. Doctor Isaac Coe was the most active in its organization ; 
but Caleb Scudder, James Blake, Douglass Maguire, James M. 
Ray, Henry Bradley, B. F. Morris, Dr. Dunlap and others, were of 
the early male teachers; and the Misses Coe, Mrs. Morris, Miss 
McDougall, and Mrs. Scudder and Mrs. Paxton, were amongst the 
early female teachers. The Sabbath School had the good wishes 
of all the inhabitants, and scarcely a child, of the proper age, in a 
very short time, failed to attend. The teachers took great interest 
in their classes, and no scholars ever advanced in their studies with 
greater rapidity. Moral and religious principles were here instilled, 
which have been gratefully acknowledged by scholars, scattered 
over many of the States of the Union. The founders have been 
greatly benefitted by their labors, and have blessed the day that 
led them to engage in so glorious a work. The history of Sabbath 
Schools in Indianapolis must be the work of another. It is too 
wide a field for me, on the present occasion ; but here was the 
commencement of a work which has extended, until, at this time, 
the number of children that now weekly attend the Sabbath Schools 
in Indianapolis, by a recent report, is 2,127. 

It has been truly remarked, that, in the settlement of the West, 
the cabin of the pioneer is scarcely covered before the Methodist 
preacher makes his appearance. So it was here. Old Father 
Cravens, noted for his eccentricities, was amongst the first ; but 
John Strange, a man of devoted piety and self-sacrificing spirit, 
was early in the field. The latter was one of Nature's orators, 
drawing inspiration from the scenes around him ; and being a man 
of deep feeling, he carried his audience with him, when the foun- 
tains of his heart were broken up with love to God and love to 
man. He had a small and slender frame, and, from appearance, 
seemed but little calculated to carry away the minds of his hearers 
from the scenes of earth. But the man was soon forgotten, when, 
in an imagery, drawn from the clouds, the stars, the elements and 
Heaven, he depicted the joys and sorrows of the Christian soldier. 
His lot on earth was one of poverty and self-denial ; but he was 
always rich — yes, rich in the hopes of a blessed immortality beyond 
the grave. He lies quietly now in our city grave-yard. James Scott 
and Edwin Ray were also eai'ly Methodist preachers. The latter 
a young man of great promise, who afterwards became distinguish- 
ed in the ministry ; but has been many years dead. He preached 
here, every three or four weeks, for a considerable time, to large 
audiences, and was the man who pushed forward to completion 
the first brick meeting house ip this city, where Wesley Chapel 
now stands. He had many revivals under his ministry. • 

The first fourth of July was celebrated at a large spring, two 
and a half miles above the town, on White river, near the resi- 
dence of Mr. Anderson, by a few individuals, in 1821. In 1822, 
the whole population, for many miles around, turned out to cele- 
brate the anniversary of our nation's Independence. I had the 



14 LECTURE BEFORE THE 

pleasure of attending this celebration. A public dinner was pro- 
vided, and, amongst other things, a large deer was barbecued whole 
and placed upon the festive board, as emblematical of the recent 
aettlement of the country. Toasts were drank and speeches deliv- 
ered, amidst the cheers of the multitude. A splendid ball succeed- 
ed in the evening, for we had beautiful women and gallant men 
who tripped it gaily on the light fantastic toe. As an editor I was 
there, of course, to note the proceedings. 

A common amusement, amongst our young and old men, and 
which was turned to a good account, was fire-hunting. This was 
arranged by placing a light in the front part of a canoe, which was 
suffered to float down the river without noise. The deer would be 
found drinking, or eating the grass that grew in the water, near 
the shore. The glare of light that burst upon him would so bewil- 
der and blind his eyes, that he would generall}' stand still, until 
the deadly aim of the rifle would lay him low in death. I have 
frequently witnessed, at the landing, in the morning, a canoe laden 
w^ith from six to eight deer, as the trophies of one night. 

The inhabitants learned from the Indians their method of pre- 
paring their venison. It being a common article of food, the large 
chimney of every log-cabin was well supplied with dried \ enison or 
jerk, as it was familiarly called. Every settler was in the habit of 
carrying with him a large pocket-knife, and the first ceremony, on 
entering a neighbor's cabin, was generally to take down a slice of 
venison and commence eating, while the conversation progressed. 
We also had many wild turkeys and other game in abundance. 
White river abounded with fish of a fine quality, and the cornfields 
afforded corn for hominy, and vegetables were produced in abun- 
dance, which were denominated Indiana fruit. 

Time passed on, and a regiment of the militia was organized in 
Marion and two or three of the surrounding counties. The elec- 
tion of colonels, majors, and captains, was truly exciting ; these 
stations being considered, at that time, in Indiana, as the stepping 
stones to civil ofiice. 

It was about this time that a J'oung man arrived in Indianapolis, 
of about twenty years of age. He was a native of Pennsylvania; 
but, with his widowed mother, had resided in Tennessee for several 
years. He was of dignified bearing, and possessed an intelligence 
not usual with young men of his years. He was without money, 
and being a printer, sought employment in the printing offices. 
He found a temporary situation for a short time, of two or three 
days' work, in each week. The balance of the time, having a good 
education, he was constantly engaged in stoiing his nund with 
useful information, and he became very much attached to this new 
and rising country. The printing offices, however, being unable 
to afford him longer employment, it seemed his destiny to leave 
the place. He was sitting one day, on Washington street, in rather 
a melancholy mood, at the prospect before him, when some coun- 



INDIANA HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 15 

trymen passing by, he heard one of them remark, that he would 
be glad to find a schoolmaster. The yoimg man started upon his 
feet, in a moment, and declared, at once, that he was ready to 
engage in this calling. On further conversation, the countryman 
agreed that he should go home with him, when the neighbors would 
determine whether they would employ him or not ; so, without fur- 
ther ceremony, he got into a wagon and started to a neighborhood 
nine or ten miles to the north-west of Indianapolis. Here he com.- 
menced a school of a few scholars, and in a short time became a 
great favorite with the settlers. Having studied surveying, they 
procured for him a compass, &c., and he run out the lines of their 
lands. When the election for the first captain of a military com- 
pany in the neighborhood came on, there appeared to be but one 
man, of a suitable age, who had any military pretensions, and he, 
with some of the inhabitants, was unpopular. An old gentleman, 
who had served in the American army, in the war with England, 
and who was a good tactician, took it into his head that the school- 
master was the man to be elected. The schoolmaster, however, 
although as a printer boy he had handled American Canon, pecu- 
liar to the craft, yet he had no military knowledge whatever, and 
had never set a squadron in the field. The old soldier determined 
not to be foiled in his wishes, so he instructed his favorite, who was 
an apt scholar, of evenings, with grains of corn, in military ma- 
noeuvres. A house raising, where the whole population attended, 
took place but a short time before the election. The candidate, 
with military pretensions, was there; and, confident of success, 
challenged the crowd to a trial of military skill. The schoolmas- 
ter, at the urgent entreaties of his military tutor, consented to enter 
the lists. They each were to form the company into line, and 
perform several military evolutions. The result was a triumph in 
favor of the schoolmaster ; who, fresh from the military school of 
the old soldier, had learned every thing he undertook to the great- 
est perfection. The young schoolmaster was elected captain, as a 
matter of course. This paved the way to his election to the Legis- 
lature, over one of the most popular men of the county, and after- 
wards Auditor of State, and to the command of a regiment. After 
this he was twice elected to Congress ; but during his second term,, 
on his journey to Washington, near Cincinnati, by one of those 
unfortunate steamboat accidents which have sometimes played 
such havoc with human life, on our western waters, he was sent from 
time to eternity, in the very bloom of early youth, with all the hopes 
and expectations of the successful American statesman clustering 
around him. Had he lived, he might this day have been occupy- 
ing a seat in the United States Senate. While at Washington, he 
had contracted a matrimonial engagement with the daughter of 
one of the first men in the nation, and was hastening to Philadel- 
phia, on his route to Washington, to lead his bride to the altar, 
when he met with his melancholy fate. Few, in this community^ 



IQ LECTURE BKFORK THE 

will fail to recognize in the portrait I have drawn, the name of the 
lamented George L. Kinnard. I give this extended history ot a 
dear friend, as a commentary on our free institutions and as an 
encouragement to the young men of our country to industry per- 
severance, and upright conduct, however lowly their condition 

mav be. ^ X T 1- .1 

At an early period, in the history of Indianapohs, the citizens 
were astonished bv the announcement, that a theatrical company 
had arrived, and would perform in the dining-room ot the princi- 
pal hotel. This company consisted of a Mr. and Mrs. bmith, late 
from the New York theater. Mr. Smith was some fifty-five years 
of ao-e, and Mrs. Smith about sixty. A musical society had just 
been'established, of which I was a member, which was invited to 
be present. Mrs. Smith was to sing the " Star Spangled Banner, 
and dance a hornpipe, blindfolded, amongst eggs, with other enter- 
tainments, of a theatrical character, in which both the members ot 
the company were to participate. Mrs. Smith, when arrayed in 
her theatrical robes, looked astonishingly well for a woman oi her 
years, and sung and danced to the admiration of the audience 
The landlord was a church member of long standing, who had 
scarcely ever heard of a theater in his life, and who determined 
that there should be no undue levity manifested by the audience 
so he endeavored to restrict the musicians to the pertormance ol 
slow and solemn music. This restriction, considering the nature 
of the performances and the character of the players, was so ex- 
tremely ludicrous that the audience was convulsed with laughter 
during the whole evening. This was the commencement ol the 
drama in Indianapolis. t i ^17 i i« 

Out early merchants were James & John Given, Luke Walpole, 
and afterwards Nicholas McCarty, Esq. Mr. Walpole together 
with his whole familv of sons and daughters, came up White river 
in two large keel-boats, bringing with them a large assortment ot 
merchandise, of almost every description, iron, castings, &c. 1 heir 
iourney from Zanesville, Ohio, was a tedious one, occupying seve- 
Val months. A record of this trip would be very interesting, ihis 
arrival, in 1822, was a great event in the early history of Indian- 
apolis, and the whole population turned out to witness the landing 
of the boats. This family was a great accession to the social cir- 
cle The eldest daughter, now no more, and afterwards the wate 
of Obed Foote, Esq., was a lady of the highest social and literary 
accomplishments. 

The stores of Given and Walpole, however, would sometimes 
run short of the articles essential to the comfort of the citizens. 
Then it was that John Hagar, Esq., afterwards, for a number of 
years, clerk of Hancock county, became famous as the ox-driver 
of central Indiana. His trips to Cincinnati and back would Ire- 
quently occupy a full month— there being nothing but the winding 
roads and traces of the emigrants over which to travel. His arri- 



INDIANA HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 



IT 



val, with a fresh supply of groceries, frequently elicited more at- 
tention than does now the landing of half a dozen steamers at 
New York. 

Mr. McCarty, as an early merchant, displayed great energy of 
character. On several occasions, when his stocks would get low, 
he would rig up a wagon and proceed to the different settlements, 
and sometimes as far as Illinois, until his goods were completely 
sold out. These traits of character laid the foundation he after- 
wards acquired, of the leading merchant in Indiana. General Jo- 
seph Orr, now of Laporte county, was also early in the field as a 
merchant in central Indiana. He laid the foundation, at Indian- 
apolis and other points, as an itinerant trader, as early as 1822, of 
his present fortune. 

In 1823, James Gregory, of Shelby county, was elected the first 
Senator from the counties of Hamilton, Marion, Madison, Henry, 
Shelby, Decatur, Rush, and Johnson, which constituted a Senato- 
rial district ; and James Paxton was elected a Representative from 
the counties of Marion, Madison, Hamilton, and Johnson, who at- 
tended the session of the Legislature for 1823-24, at Corydon. 
That winter a law was passed providing for the meeting of the 
next session of the Legislature at this place, on the 10th of Janu- 
ary, 1825. In anticipation of this event, the young men of Indian- 
apolis met at the Land Office one evening, and determined to form 
themselves into a legislative body. Benjamin I. Blythe, who had 
been a member of the Indiana Legislature, from Dearborn county, 
being present, was chosen the first Speaker. Several of the older 
members of the community afterwards joined in, and we soon had 
the late Governor Noble, Judge Wick, General Hanna, Hiram 
Brown, Morris Morris, and many others, as regular members. Of 
the young men who were the first to participate as members, Wil- 
liam Quarles, K. A. Scudder, Austin W. Morris, John Frazee, Is- 
rael Griffith, Alexander W. Russell, William New, Joseph K. Loo- 
ney, Douglas Maguire, John Cain, Joseph M. Moore, Thomas H. 
Sharpe, Thomas A. Morris, William P. Bryant, Newton S. Heylin, 
Andrew W. Ingram, Hugh O'Neal, George W. Kimberly, Benja- 
min S. Noble, Fabius M. Finch, Simon Yandes, and many others, 
were amongst the number. 

The Indianapolis Court House was finished about this time, from 
the proceeds of the sales of lots, with the understanding that the 
Indiana Legislature should occupy it for a place of meeting, if de- 
sired, until the year 1860. It was then considered one of the finest 
public buildings in the State, and the Indianapolis Legislature held 
its meetings in the Senate chamber. Every variety of subjects 
were here discussed, and its meetings, which were on every Satur- 
day evening, were largely attended by the members of the Indiana 
Legislature during the sessions of that body. It was a great re- 
sort for the ladies of the place, which greatly added to the interest 
of the discussions. It continued in session, without intermission, 
3 



18 LECTURE BEFORE THE 

in summer and winter, once a week, for four or five years. No 
wonder that those of us still living look back to these scenes of oui' 
youth with the fondest recollection, and cherish the memories of 
our companions in the greenest spot on memory's waste. 

Those acquainted with the names I have mentioned, will perceive 
that death has made fearful inroads upon our number. Dr. Scud- 
der was an early victim. Our Legislative Hall was clad in the 
habiliments of mourning, at his death. He was an early pioneer, 
had been recently married, and a bright career in his profession 
seemed to lie before him. Israel Griffith was a young man of 
much promise, and had just been admitted to the bar, when the fell 
destroyer took him hence. John Frazee was a universal favorite, 
and for many years was known as a merchant in this city. With- 
in the last few months three of our most prominent members — the 
associates of my youth — have passed to the land of silence and of 
death. William Quarles, Austin W. Morris, and Alexander W. 
Russell are no more. How often has the old Senate Chamber 
resounded with the eloquence of a Quarles, or been greeted with 
the pleasant smile and ever joyous countenance of a Morris — and 
Russell, how shall I speak of him — for many years not only the 
life of our society in the city, but throughout the whole country. 
He was, for several years, the general attendant of most of the 
bride-grooms in the neighborhood ; and young men, for miles 
around, thought it the greatest honor for him to be present at their 
weddings. This gave him an unbounded popularity. I have been 
present with him on many such occasions, and know how dearly 
he was beloved. The following stanzas, written on the death of 
the lamented Quarles, will better express my feelings than any 
thing I can say on the subject : 

"Mouinfully, mournfully, toll for the dead — 

They passed from our side, in their manhood's pride, 

Ere the glcw of their rainbow-hopes had fled ; 
When their sky was bright, with meridian light. 
Death bore them away, to a dreamless night — 

Mournfully toll for the dead. 

Tenderly, tenderly bid them adieu — 

The garland that love, with their life-chords wove. 

Lies withered and pale on their breasts so true. 
The beautiful chain, Death rcuded in twain, 
Can never be joined on the earth again — 

Tenderly bid them adieu. 

Silently, silently let them sleep on — 

From the hurry and strife, of tlie batUe of life, 

Victors, away to their home they 've gone. 
Gone, gone from the tears, from the sorrows and fears. 
That come to the heart, on the tide of years — 

Silently let them sleep on." 

After the removal of the seat of government to Indianapolis, the 
social intercourse of the people seemed to partake more or less of 



INDIANA HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 19 

a Legislative character, particularly amongst the young of both 
sexes. At a wedding party, a society was instituted, consisting of 
young ladies and gentlemen, on the Legislative principle ; yet not 
quite so democratic, in one of its departments, as that of our State 
government. The aristocratic branch consisted of four young 
ladies, who constituted a council, or board of directors, having a 
strong veto power on all matters brought before the society. The 
other branch was purely democratic, and consisted of ladies and 
gentlemen. The subjects brought before the society were gener- 
ally such as tended to matrimony. There was a marshal or 
sergeant- at- arms appointed, whose special business it was to carry 
out the decrees of the council or board of directors. .Tames Blake, 
the Indianapolis marshal, of thirty years standing, was first elected. 
Moonlight excursions, in a large ferry boat, on the river, were pro- 
jected ; and the society, on fine evenings, under the direction of 
the marshal, would proceed to the boat, where, by the light of the 
soft silver moon, as our bark floated over the waters, to the sound 
of sweet music, many a tale of love was told. A grave charge 
was made against several of the first directory of ladies, who, 
instead of attending to the interests of the society at large, were 
the first to form matrimonial alliances for themselves. When their 
wedding parties came on, these charges were a source of much 
amusement. 

In 1823, having received a contract from the Postmaster General, 
I proceeded with the first United States Mail, north of Indianapo- 
lis, to the then recently deserted Indian village of Andersontown. 
A post-office, on the route, was established at the house of William 
Conner, four miles south of Noblesville. He had been an Indian 
trader, and had resided on this spot for about twenty years, and 
had just erected a handsome brick residence. Never shall I forget 
his kindness and hospitality. In the course of the year, I spent 
many delightful evenings at his mansion. A young gentleman 
was there, by the name of Rosseau, from Detroit, under the direc- 
tion, I believe, of General Cass, or the war department, collecting 
Indian traditions from the natives, who were still, in considerable 
numbers, trading with Mr. Conner; and there I gathered much of 
Indian character, that was highly interesting. He was a good mu- 
sician, and with Josiah F. Polk, from W^ashington City, who was 
also an inmate, and frequently Indian chiefs and other natives, we 
spent many happy evenings. Mr. Conner's new house was on the 
second bank of White river, which formed something like a horse 
shoe around three hundred acres of rich prairie, that had been 
selected as a donation under the treaty, immediately in front of his 
dwelling, which was located on a considerable eminence. This 
prairie was enclosed by a good fence, and was all under cultiva- 
tion by the early settlers. I never beheld a more delightful scene, 
than when I looked down from the second story of Mr. Conner's 
dwelling, on a field of three hundred acres of waving corn, some 



20 LECTURE BEFORE THE 

two feet high, with fifteen or twenty merry ploughmen scattered 
over it at work. It was doubly interesting, coming as I did out of 
nature's forest, only broken by the occasional cabins and small 
patches of cleared land of the early settlers. 

There was another post-office at Strawtown, a prairie of consid- 
erable magnitude, where many remains of the Indian village that 
had been there located, were still standing. It was at Anderson- 
town, however, that all my kind!y feelings were enlisted for the race 
of men who had just deserted the graves of their fathers. They had 
left this beautiful country to take up their residence in the far west, 
soon to follow the setting sun as he sinks from our vision ; but 
never like him, to arise again to gladden the earth with their pres- 
ence. Andersontovvn had been the seat of government of the Del- 
aware nation, and it is said, at one time, to have contained a 
thousand inhabitants. More than fifty of the Indian dwellings 
were still standing, in a dilapidated condition. The residence of 
Anderson, their last chief, was in good repair, and was occupied 
by my old friend, captain John Berry, a pioneer of the right stamp. 
I had the melancholy pleasure, on several occasions, of sleeping in 
one of the rooms where Anderson and his family had lodged. 

It has been stated, by Mr. Johnson, long an Indian Agent of 
Ohio, that when the treaty was signed by the chiefs of the Uela- 
wares, at St. Mary's, in 1818, for the relinquishment of this coun- 
try, they were melted into tears. Inevitable destiny stared them 
in the face, and they were forced to submit. 

It was in the month of June when I first visited Andersontown. 
The blue grass was growing luxuriantly around the ruins of the 
Indian's dwelling. The ripe rich stravvberries were hanging in 
delicious clusters on their vines, and all nature, under the influence 
of the God of Day, seemed joyous and happy. But the poor 
Indian, where was he? Stranger hands were to reap the benefits 
of his earthly paradise. My heart was overpowered, for the reali- 
ties of life had not then chilled the warm feelings of youth. Gen- 
erous tears came to my relief, and a prayer was offtn-ed up for the 
red man and his fate. 

Time admonishes me that I must refrain from the relation of a 
thousand incidents in the early history of Indianapolis, that crowd 
up from the memories of the past. But I must not forget that ex- 
cellent man and able teacher, Ebenezer Sharpe, who, with his son 
and daughter, gave an impulse to the cause of education, that will 
never be forgotten by those who attended their school. 

Events, in early history, apparently of the most unimportant 
character at the time, are frequently links in the great chain of 
human progress, and they should be treasured up in the common 
store-house of knowledge, as a foundation upon which the future 
historian may build his more stately edifice. The contemplated 
festival of the early settlers, I have no doubt, will rescue many of 
these from oblivion. 



INDIANA IIISTORK'AI. SOCIETV. 21 

The proj^ress of the west is truly wonderful. I am only forty- 
eight years of age ; but I passed over the ground, where Columbus, 
the capital of our sister Ohio, is located, when there was but a soli- 
tary log-cabin upon the banks of the Scioto, at that place. Here 
a proud city now stands forth in all the grandeur of the metropolis 
of the third, and soon to be the second. State in the Union. I have 
beheld, more recently, the site of this beautiful city covered with a 
dense forest, now the capital of the fourth State in our glorious 
confederacy. The future, with all its mysteries, is yet unkovvn. I 
would not lift the curtain, for God, in his Providence, for v.'ise pur- 
poses, withholds the scenes that lie before us from mortal vision. 
But the immortal mind cannot be chained, and with something of 
that inspiration, which guided the prophets of old, we may soar in 
imagination through the ranges of coming generations. Indiana 
is a central State, and it is supposed by the best judges, from the 
quality of her soil, that, with her 30,500 square miles, or 23,300,000 
acres, she is susceptible of as dense a population as any country, 
of equal extent, in the known world, there being but few acres of 
land that cannot be cultivated. Her metropolis is now radiated by 
railroads and telegraph lines in every direction. If we wish to 
visit Canada, the Northern Lakes, the Copper and Iron regions of 
Lake Superior, the beauties of Minnesota, or the Indian's hunting 
grounds, still farther to the north-west, a direct railroad communi- 
cation to them all is nearly completed via Lafayette and Michigan 
City. If we wish to visit St. Louis, the gap in Illinois, under the 
superintendence of a Brough, will soon be filled up, leading to Ben- 
ton's great route to the Pacific. Our communication with Evans- 
ville, on the Ohio river, will soon be completed, which will give 
easy access to a railroad now in progress to the extreme South. 
With ^cw Albany, Louisville, and Jeffersonville we have already 
daily communication, and five or six hours takes us to either of 
these points, there uniting with the great Nashville road, which will 
soon be completed. Our railroad communication with Madison is 
of some four or five years standing, and is looked upon as an old 
road, the mother of all the rest in our State. With Lawrenceburgh 
and Cincinnati our connection will be complete in the next twelve 
months, all the arrangements being made and the work in rapid 
progress. The great Central road via Centreville, Richmond, Day- 
ton, and Columbus, Ohio, will also be in full operation next season. 
The connection on the Bellefontaine road is now complete with 
Cincinnati, and a new route of communication is opened up, over 
which I traveled, in part, but twenty-eight years ago, by an Indian 
trace. The Peru road, now completed beyond Noblesville, will be 
extended, the coming year, both to Peru and Logansport, and event- 
ually to Goshen and to the Southern JMichigan road. Having 
boxed the compass, I will desist from a further detail of railroads 
radiating from this city, when 1 notice one just started, under favor- 
able auspices, which will form a direct communication, through 



22 IXCTIJRE BEFORE THE 

Rockville and Montezuma, with Springfield, ^f^;^^^"""^^ 
throuo-h Rushville, on the most direct route to Cuicinnati lo 
morrovv, I 1 ave just been informed, the raih-oad connection betvveen 
"oth Lafayette a'nd Terre Haute and Cincinnati -U be complete 
and to-morrow morning the traveler can start from the Wabasn 
r^ver at either Terre Haute or Lafayette come to Indian apohs ad 
remain two hours for dinner, and be in Cincinnati via the ^e efon- 
S road the same evening. Where now is Hagar and his ox- 
irm? The old gentleman !s still alive; but his team is entirely 
too slow for the progress of the age ! For 

They liave given the iron horse the rein, 
And he flics away o'er the sunny plain— 
Shriekins? and clanking the bolts and bars 
That fetter his strength to the rumbling cars. 
Away, through the valley and mountain-pass, 
O'er the dark ravine, and the dank morass; 
By the lonely forests and fertile fields. 
Shaking the earth with his iron heels. 
And flashing the sparks from his fiery eyes, 
Like a hunted fiend, he shrieks and flies! 
On on through the tunnel so dark and drear— 
On', over the bridges that quake with fear— 
Bv the stagnant fens and the limpid nli«— 
Through the clefted hearts of the ancient lulls, 
Where the startling echos faint and die. 
In their vain attempts to repeat Ins cry. 
Now faster away, as if terrible need 
Were adding a spur to his fearful speed- 
Hushed is the voice of the rushing river; 
The winds are low, but tlie old trees shiver; 
The sun, like a drunkard, reels around; 
The wild beasts start from the haunted ground, 
And the bending sky seems rent apart. 
With the dreadful throbs of his mighty heart! 
Hurrah! he is mocking the wandering wind, 
And leaving the laggard far, far behind. 
Citv, and hamlet, and river, and plain. 
Like pictures of chaos, confuse the brain, 
As they loom in sight and vanish away. 
Like the shifting scenes in a giant play. 
And thus the hor.se with the iron heart; 
Bearino- his burden from mart to mart— 
]\antin<r and pufling his clarion peals; 
Shaking the earth with his clanging heels- 
Flashing the sparks from his fierv eyes. 
Like a hunted demon shrieks and flies. 

The State of Indiana has many battle-fields, vvhei-e a heroism 
1, Jbeen dSnlayed, by Amerieans, in border warfare w,th the In- 
lirantlbes! that has iarcely a parallel m the annals of history. 

' Xe '^l^ZntZi^il Sfernor, Hamilton, and Vincennes 
Ihe captme oi "^'^ , j^^jj ^ j^o^t brilliant 

^^^^"'''° It :%Tated'rtrat Hamilton had iade arrangements to 
' r7,he Uthe™ and western Indians for the next spring's cam- 
en ist the so™h«» ™"' ^ ( i„ hij, suppositions, Brant and 

i;ui;^.u:;l';ve?e'to'aerin\:';.cert with hi^ Had Clark, there- 



INDIANA HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 23 

fore, failed to conquer the Governor, there is too much reason to 
fear that the west would have been, indeed, swept from the Missis- 
sippi to the mountains, and the great blow struck, which had been 
contemplated from the outset by Britain. 

The defence of Fort Harrison, near Terrc Haute, is worthy of a 
prominent place in our country's history. It was there, perhaps, 
more than anywhere else, that General Zachary Taylor, then but a 
mere striphng, as a Captain of this frontier post, exhibited a pre- 
sence of mind, a military skill and noble daring, hardly equalled 
by his most brilliant exploits in Mexico. His Fort was attacked 
late in the night of the 4th of September, 1812, by a large party 
of Indians. The engagement continued for seven hours. One of 
the block-houses, which formed a part of the Fort, was set on fire, 
which baffled every effort to extinguish it. General Taylor, in his 
graphic account to his commanding officer, after the battle, re- 
marks : 

" As that block-house adjoined the barracks that make part of 
the fortifications, most of the men immediately gave themselves up 
for lost, and I had the greatest difficulty in getting my orders exe ■ 
cuted — and, sir, what from the raging of the fire — the yelfing and 
howling of several hundred Indians — the cries of nine Women and 
children, (a part soldiers' and a part citizens' wives, who had taken 
shelter in the fort,) and the despondency of so many of the men, 
which was worse than all — I can assure you that my feelings were 
unpleasant — and indeed there were not more than ten or fifteen 
men able to do a great deal, the others being sick or convalescent. 
But my presence of mind did not, for a tnoment, forsake me.'" 

This last trait in Zachary Taylor's character, no doubt saved the 
fort, and this brilliant defense was accomplished by the loss of but 
two men killed and two wounded. 

The battle of Tippecanoe, which took place near the Wabash 
river, seven miles above where the city of Lafayette now stands 
on the 7th of November, 1811, is so well known,'^that it is unneces- 
sary to give any particulars. The nine acres of ground, where the 
Americans were encamped, and where the battle was principally 
fought, now belong to the State of Indiana, as a donation from 
General John Tipton — who was an officer in the engagement — 
and arrangements are about to be made by the State to enclose it, 
I hope, with a good and substantial cast iron fence. The New 
Albany and Lake Michigan Railroad passes immediately by the 
battle ground, and the Masonic fraternity of Indiana and Kentucky 
have made arrangements to erect a monument on this beautiful 
eminence, to the memory of the heroic Daviess and others, who 
gallantly fell fighting in that sanguinary contest. It will present a 
grand appearance from the cars, as they pass along, and will be 
witnessed by the thousands that will travel on that road. 



LECTURE BEFORE THE 

The ibllouing de.c.pticn. i-^-ult o.^ visit to the .pot, by 
a member of my own family, m October, 1845 . 

Mv heart ^s-as still ^'ithin me, for I ^tood 
Tn trembling awe, on consecrated ground 
UponThe soil made sacred by the blood 
6f western chivalry ; and thou-h I to nd 
No storied marble there to P-^f y --^"^^^^ 
The names of tho.-e who fell, oi bear a trace 
Of Gratitude, the old trees stood around, 
Hke c^ aut-sentiuels, to guard the place, 
Wea.ing the bullet-scars Time could not all efface. 

Oh ' there are times when the unfettered mind 
goes out from its clay tenement and strays, 
In dreams all fanciful and undefined. 
Amidst the mouldering records of old days. 
dS forms start up before us as we raise 
T^rf-mcv's light, the dark mysterious seal 
Of buri^ed yelus ; shadows are there ; we gaze 
TTnnn the terrible; hear, see and feel 
Thingriha^no sign, no word hath power to reveal. 

Thus was I spell-bound there and fancy wrought 
A thriUin- scene before me. It was night 
Wit "n a^rmi old forest, and I thought 
vSe o^watch fires, burning fr^lfl^^^^'''' 
q^nt un Dhantast c streams of fattul lignt 
im dst the autumn leaves. Then tents arose 
ind wa like weapons gleamed upon my sight, 
Ind men, unconscious of approaching foes. 
Wrapt inSsweet oblivion, toil-earned repose. 

Many a one, forgetting eveiy care, 
Had wandered far away, and in l^i" ^ ^nc^' 
Was sitting in his quiet home, and there 
Recoun I his strange perils, and perchance, 
5e smUes to see how'dangers past enhance 

?ts^T;ii!^™affSi:K^?s^r^ 

^^f^SkV^lSS^t^nS^Jihlyyell, 
?oW but too truly that the f- was there 
And froze the very l^fe Wood where it tell 
tLu from prairie, thicket, stream and dell. 
Arose the sound of the unequal strife 

Secure within the tall praine grass 
That -rew in wild luxuriance round the scene. 
The m?nTed warriors firmly kept the pass, 
Inrl^^i^l behind this slight but fitting screen 
^^oVfLtal'lim, themselves the while unsee,. 
Oh ' God, there is no scene so full of dread, 

Ot i'tog's^fadrlW o'er the dying and the dead. 



INDIANA HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 35 

Tiic shai-p, shrill fife-note and the clashing steel ; 
The lightning flashes, smoke, and streaming gore. 
As ranks advance, make ready, charge, and wheel, 
Many of ■whom, perchance, "will charge no more. 
The loud command, the deep incessant roar. 
As volley after volley loudly tells 
Its tale of blood, repeated o'er and o'er 
Along the deep ravines and secret cells ; 
Amidst the craggy rocks where babbling echo dwells. 

Long, long they fought and bravely, but the foe 
Had the advantage ; where the watch-fires threw 
Along the broken ranks a ruddy glow. 
Like winged lightning-shafts the bullets flew. 
With the unerring aim, so strangely true, 
Of savage marksmen ; not a single eye. 
Quailed as the dreadful contest deeper grew ; 
Thev counted it a little thing to die ; 
A wound, a pang, a groan, a struggle, and a sigh. 

At length a streak of light, all cold and gray, 
Slowly along the deep horizon spread ; 
Then the dark battle-cloud rolled up and lay 
Like a strange pall above the unshrouded dead. 
No dirge was sung, no word of prayer was said. 
As weeping comrades took their mute farewell, 
Ere they departed hence, with stealing tread, 
Leaving the hastily made graves to tell, 
Where many a gallant soldier nobly fought and fell. 

My dream departed ; the blue sky above 
Was bending down as beautiful and fair. 
As if the spirit of Almighty love 
And God's omnipotence were resting there. 
The forest leaves waved in the morning air 
Caressingly, and there was not one stain 
On the bright pebbles or green sward to bear 
The record of the battle-strife, the pain, 
The groans, the agony, the death-wounds of the slain. 

The scene was strangely changed since that sad night; 
Then soil, grass, bramble-brush and stream, were red. 
Now, all were fresh, green, beautiful, and bright ; 
The flower-embroidered carpet Nature spread. 
Was fair enough to grace an angel's tread. 
The dew-drops trembled in the passing breeze 
And fell in fairy showers upon my head ; 
The wild birds carolled in the leafy trees 
As though they strove with strange variety to please. 

The memory of that lovely spot doth seem 
To tremble o'er my heart-strings with a thrill, 
Like some bright fragment of a broken dream. 
A gentle stream, now narrowed to a rill. 
Winds, like a line of sunbeams, round the hill, 
And ripples o'er the shining stones that pave 
Its narrow channel, with a soft low trill 
Of music to the flowers that stoop to lave 
Their petals in the spray, or kiss the laughing wave. 

I have one token of the dreamy hour 
I spent beside the ashes of the brave ; 

4 



26 LECTURK BEFORK THE 

It is a little faded purple flower 
That grew, alone, upon the common grave. 
I love it, for it saw the old trees wave 
Their giaiit-arnis above it iu mid-air. 
That stood there on the battle-night and gave 
Protection to the men, and bore a share 
Of bullet-wounds with those who nobly perished there. 

Fair Indiana, thou wilt not forget 
It was for thee they poured life's crimson tide ; 
It was for thee, my own bright home, they met ; 
'Twas on thy bosom that they battled, died. 
And it will be thy glory and thy pride 
To bid the monumental marble rise. 
Where now their ashes slumber side by side. 
Beneath the flowers that lift their dewey eyes 
Toward the stars that burn and sparkle o'er thy skies. 

I do not belong to those, who, by unjust means, would wrest from 
neighboring countries any of their dominions; but I believe the 
framers of the American Constitution laid the foundations of this 
government deep in the everlasting principles of Nature herself. 
The General Government represents the Sun, and the States the 
Planets. Each has its peculiar sphere, in which it moves. Astro- 
nomers, from time to time, as science has been developed, have 
discovered new worlds, some of them far in the distance of unlimit- 
ed space — all harmoniously moving in their proper orbits, but illu- 
mined by the great central light. Such has been the progress of 
our free institutions. New stars have been added to our glorious 
constellation; and so long as we follow the landmarks of our fa- 
thers, and confine the General and the State governments to their 
proper limits, there will be no danger. It is enough for me to say, 
that I believe the day is not far distant, when the whole western 
continent of America, and the adjacent islands, will be found look- 
ing to the stars and stripes as their national ensign. 

" Far, far beyond the deep blue sea. 
This starry ensign of the free, 
Shines lovelier than the purest gem, 
In Europe's proudest diadem. 
For ever honored be the band. 
That wrested from the tyrant's hand. 
The charter of the glorious land, 
That fears no haughty despot's rod, 
And pays no homage, save to God. 
Her giant mountains, hoar and high; 
Her balmy air, and sunny sky; 
Her towering forests, dim and old; 
Her inland seas, her mines of gold; 
Her mighty streams, her old blue hills; 
Her starry flowers, her laughing rills — 
Make her as fair as fancy deems, 
The Eden of the poet's dreams. 
As freely trills tlie voice of mirth. 
Around the poorest cottage heartli, 
As where the sparkling wine is poured. 
By wealth around the proudest board. 



INDIANA IIISTORK'AI- SO.'lRTY. fiJ7 

For lovine hearts and sunny eyes, 
Have made an earthly paradise. 
As well within her lowest homes, 
As in her grandest marble domes." 

Indiana, as one of the stars, has progressed with unexampled 
rapidity. In 1765 her whole population consisted of about one 
hundred families, principally located at Vincennes. In 1778, thir- 
teen years afterwards, according to Gen. Clark's Memoir, the mili- 
tia in the vicinity of Vincennes was about four hundred; but there 
was but little accession to the population of other portions of the 
country within our limits. In J 807 a census of the territory was 
taken, and the entire population was found to be about 12,000. 
In 1816, the year Indiana was admitted into the Union, the num- 
ber was estimated at 65,000. In 1820, according to the United 
States census, the population was 147,178. In 1830, 343,031. In 
1840, 685,866. In 1850, 990,258. 

From 1840 to 1845 there was but httle increase in our popula- 
tion, owing to the general disarrangement in the monetary atiairs 
of the whole country, and the misfortunes growing out of the fail- 
ure of our internal improvement system; but from 1845 to 1850 
improvement and population progressed with their usual rapidity. 
In 1846 our State debt arrangement was made with our foreign 
creditors, which was the crowning act of Gov. Whitcomb's admin- 
istration, and since that period we have faithfully complied with all 
our engagements, and our bonds have recently been gold, in the 
New York market, at a premium over their par value. From 1840 
to 1846 there was a general gloom and despondency hanging over 
many of our citizens. But there were not lacking men. who, in 
the halls of our State Legislature, boldly proclaimed that Indiana 
intended, at every hazard, faithfully to comply with all her engage- 
ments. It was during the pendency of the State debt bill, that the 
gallant General Joseph Lane, in the State Senate proclaimed, in 
the strong language of the backwoodsman, that he would cut cord 
wood to pay his proportion of the public debt, rather than see In- 
diana dishonored. Further back than this, however, in 1842, In- 
diana's gifted orator, on the floor of this Hall, uttered the true sen- 
timents of the people, in a strain of burning eloquence, almost un- 
equalled. It was at a time when, according to the public prints, 
the bonds of our State were selling in the New York market, at 
but seventeen cents on the dollar. In a speech of great power, of 
which but an imperfect report has been given, he concluded as fol- 
lows : 

" I tremble as the words come upon my lips — repudiation of eve- 
ry dollar of our public debt. I do not go as far as the gentleman 
from St. Joseph, as to the moral obligation resting upon us to pay 
for bonds procured through fraud, and for which we have received 
no consideration. But, so far as the rest are concerned, I would 
sooner part with my last coat, and divide my last crust of bread, 



28 LECTURE BEFORE THE 

than sully the honor and tame of Indiana, or sanction a principle 
so abhorrent to all my ideas of justice, and so dishonorable, whe- 
ther practiced by men or by nations. Unless something be done, 
and that speedily too, repudiation, as I said before, will be our only 
alternative. Then will follow loss of fame, of honor and of credit, 
of all that is valuable in reputation to States and individuals. 
When Indiana refuses to pay her just debts the judgments of God 
will be upon her and upon her children. From that day the name 
of Hoosier will become a by-word of reproach, as well among the 
nations as throughout the limits of our sister confederacies. On 
that day anarchy must reign in our midst ; the sound of the church- 
going bell will no longer break upon the slumbers of the virtuous 
and happy; law and justice will be dethroned, and this edifice, in- 
tended to perpetuate the glory of Indiana, will be yielded up to 
the dominion of fiends and robbers. When that day arrives, the 
columns which support the structure of this Hall will be defiled by 
the slime of serpents, and, as they exhibit their poisonous fangs, 
will hiss us into scorn for having resorted to a subterfuge so base 
to evade the solemn obligations that rest upon us." 

I shall never forget the occasion or the speaker. Many of you 
can imagine the eloquence of a Hannegan, in his brighter and hap- 
pier days, from this imperfect specimen. 

The increase of population in Indiana during the past three years, 
has been almost without a parallel; and by the commencement of 
the year 1855 we may safely estimate the number of inhabitants 
at very little short of one million five hundred thousand. 

From the latest estimates 760 miles of railroad are now com- 
pleted in the State — nine hundred and seventy-nine miles more in 
course of construction, of which four hundred will be completed in 
the course of the next six months. 

We are just entering upon a new common school sy.stem, from 
which there is much to hope, under the guardianship of our inde- 
fatigable State superintendent of public instruction. Our benevo- 
lent institutions, for the education of the deaf and dumb, and 
blind, and for curing or ameliorating the condition of the insane, 
brought into existence during the darkest period of our State's his- 
tory, are our pride and glory. 

The law reports of Judge Blackford have given us a legal repu- 
tation not surpassed by any of the States, and our universities 
and colleges are shedding fight amongst the people, in the higher 
branches of science and literature. 

We have also a State agricultural society, recently established, 
of which the Governor is the president, and which is composed of 
delegates from all parts of the State. We have had one State 
lair, at which about thirty thousand of our citizens were present, 
and where specimens of agricultural products, of science, of tlie 
mechanic arts, and of other branches of home industry were exhib- 
ited, but little behind those of the oldest States in the Union. 



INDIANA HISTORICAL SOCIETV. 29 

With these advantages, our course must be onward. 

In conclusion, and in this connection, we should not forget the 
early friends of education and literature in our State. The follow- 
ing sentiments, found in the message of our first Governor, Jen- 
nings, delivered at the commencement of the second session of the 
Indiana Legislature, in 1817, are his proudest monument: 

"The commencement of a State Library forms a subject of too 
much interest not to meet your attention. I recommend to your 
consideration, the propriety of requiring, by law, a per centum on 
the proceeds of the sale of town lots, to be paid for the support of 
schools and the establishment of libraries therein. The establish- 
ment of a system of common schools, throughout the inhabited 
portion of our State, will meet that consideration which its import- 
ance dictates. The operation of such a system, so arranged as to 
afford the means to every description of our citizens, to educate 
their children, will secure the morals of the rising generation; the 
better prepare them for the discharge of their several'and respect- 
ive duties, and to estimate the value of our free institutions — the 
surest guaranties of that love of country, so essential to the per- 
manence of our form of government." 



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